How Do I
Wes's Picks
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Guterson, David The Other Fiction |
| The Other did not receive the critical acclaim
of David Guterson’s first and most famous novel, Snow Falling
on Cedars, but it is an excellent story nonetheless. The Other
is about the friendship between level-headed, working class Neil Countryman
and eccentric, trust funded John William Barry, who decides to leave
behind the world of brilliantly portrayed 1970s Seattle and become
a hermit in the Hoh Rain Forest. Countryman devotedly helps Barry
survive in his hermitage, until disaster strikes and Countryman finds
himself the heir to his friend’s 400 million dollar fortune. No spoilers
here; you learn all of this in the first few pages of the book. Most
of the story afterward is an examination of John William Barry’s motivations
behind his withdrawal from society, and Neil Countryman’s meditations
on choosing the “other,” mainstream path through life. The story is
interspersed with beautiful scenes of the Pacific Northwest wilderness,
which lives and breathes in Guterson’s prose. Otherwise, the novel
is less about wilderness adventure and more about discussions of philosophy,
theology, and literature, which may wear on some readers. If, however,
you are a fan of philosophical, soul-searching novels that take place
in beautiful settings, The Other will not disappoint. Recommended December 2008 |
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Butcher, Jim Storm Front: Book 1 of The Dresden Files Science Fiction |
| The first book of The Dresden Files introduces the series'
protagonist, the modern day magic-slinging, duster-wearing Harry Dresden,
and his antics as a wizard-for-hire in Chicago. In Storm Front,
Harry faces a mysterious black magic-wielding foe who’s been murdering
people in gruesome ways. Harry must use his magic and his wits to
track down the evil wizard before he becomes the next victim, all
while dealing with the Chicago Police Department, a mobster, a bordello
owning vampiress, and an angry group of wizards who blame Harry for
the murders. Frankly, the book can be a little cheesy (as can Harry
himself, offering lines like "I adore children. A little salt, a squeeze
of lemon--perfect"), and it doesn't offer a lot in terms of a complex
story or shocking plot twists. Despite this, it’s a fun read that
is a good distraction while you’re deciding on which mind-expanding
novel to read next. This is Jim Butcher's first book, and I suspect
that The Dresden Files have gotten better as he's written them. After
all, if Storm Front offers anything, it's the potential for
bigger and better things for Harry Dresden and his adventures. Recommended November 2008 |
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| Laxness, Halldor World Light Fiction |
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| World Light came to me as a recommendation because
of my interest in Hermann Hesse, and reading it was a truly revelatory
experience. First, because it is an amazingly beautiful story, and
second, because it was a great introduction to the Icelandic author
Halldor Laxness. Like Hesse, Laxness is not afraid to explore the
very heart of the human spiritual condition, and both are great at
exploring this condition from the perspective of individuals who find
themselves standing apart from the rest of society. World Light introduces
us to Olafur Karason, a hapless boy who is orphaned and then fostered
by Icelandic peasants. At a very young age Olafur physically experiences
the beauty of the world, the “world light” of the title, in something
akin to spiritual revelations. Olafur’s ability to experience the
world in this way gives him a unique vision that sets him apart from
others, for better or worse, and he dreams of one day becoming a famous
poet. Unfortunately, Olafur’s dream is often met with the brute force
of lesser individuals, such as when his foster brothers beat him until
he is physically incapacitated and bedridden. On the other hand, some
are drawn to Olafur’s poetic worldview, such as the strange mystic
who heals Olafur and rescues him from his foster home. Either way,
Olafur always seems to be the prisoner of other people’s whims, which
ultimately drives him into a life of poverty and, eventually, scandal,
while never finding the greatness he longs for. Despite this, to the
very end he remains inspired by the beauty he sees in the world around
him. And it’s this theme that makes World Light so wonderful.
At times the book is brutal, bizarre, and slow, but by the end everything
clicks, and you are rewarded with the insight that “beauty shall reign
alone.” Recommended October 2008 |
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Wolf, Maryanne Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain Nonfiction |
| We take reading for granted; it probably feels totally
natural to read this sentence without a second thought of why you
are able to do so. But did you know that alphabets and our ability
to read them are only a few thousand years old, and that some of the
greatest thinkers in history, such as Socrates, feared the influence
reading would have on the mind and society? These are some of the
topics Maryanne Wolf discusses in her excellent book, Proust and
the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain. Maryanne
Wolf is a neuropsychologist who studies reading development in children.
Her research eventually led her to study the history of reading and
the ways in which reading influences the development of the brain.
In one of the more fascinating parts of her book, Wolf discusses the
fact that reading actually changes what parts of the brain we use,
and that the parts used vary depending on which alphabet is being
read. (Someone reading Japanese, for instance, would use different
parts of the brain than someone reading English.) Wolf also spends
a good deal of time discussing reading development in children, including
reasons why reading fails to develop properly, particularly in cases
of dyslexia. Wolf offers an especially interesting discussion here,
mentioning at one point that dyslexia is strongly related to high
activity in the right hemisphere of the brain, and that a surprising
number of creative thinkers throughout history, such as Leonardo Da
Vinci, were dyslexic. At times Wolf can be heavy-handed with her use
of technical jargon, which might slow you down a little. Despite this,
Proust and the Squid is overall a fascinating read, and should
interest anyone curious about the history and importance of reading.
I also highly recommend it to anyone interested in reading development
in children, as there are a few golden facts presented that are as
useful to know as they are intriguing. Recommended September 2008 |
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Russo, Richard Straight Man Fiction |
| Discovering a new author is exciting. Recently, I discovered
Richard Russo, whose name you may recognize from his Pulitzer Prize
winning book (and subsequent HBO miniseries), Empire Falls.
My first Russo book wasn't the prize winner, however, but a slightly
earlier work called Straight Man. Straight Man is
the story of William Henry Devereaux Jr., the aging chair of a quarrelsome
English department in a mediocre small-town college in, of all places,
Pennsylvania. Devereaux's approach to life is "don't take things too
seriously." When Devereaux applies this approach to administrative
funding cuts, the possibility of being ousted from his job by embittered
colleagues, and the indifference of his family, hilarious situations
ensue one after the other. Honestly, I think this is the funniest
piece of fiction I have ever read. Straight Man isn't all
laughs, though, and in the end it turns out to be pretty heartwarming.
Throughout the story there is serious soul searching on Devereaux's
part as he reflects on missed opportunities and wonders how he got
to where he is. His conclusion is not bitterness, however, but rather
a kind of grateful submission to life's vagaries that comes from his
refusal to stop seeing the joke in everything. Overall, Straight
Man is a good introduction to Richard Russo's writing and his
favorite themes, such as small-town life and missed opportunities.
Straight Man is also absolutely required reading for anyone
walking the precarious path of academia, as Russo's descriptions of
the wackiness of academic life are pricelessly spot-on. Recommended August 2008 |
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